The Church in Nazi Germany

The Church in Nazi Germany was subjected to
as much pressure as any other organisation in Germany. Any perceived threat to Hitler could
not be tolerated - and the churches of Germany potentially presented the Nazis
with numerous threats.

In 1933, the Catholic Church had viewed the
Nazis as a barrier to the spread of communism from Russia. In this year, Hitler
and the Catholic Church signed an agreement that he would not interfere with the
Catholic Church
while the Church would not comment on politics. However, this only lasted until
1937, when Hitler started a concerted attack on the Catholic Church arresting
priests etc. In 1937, the pope, Pius XI, issued his "Mit brennender
Sorge" statement ("With burning anxiety") over what was going on in Germany.
However, there was never a total clampdown on the Catholic Church in Germany. It
was a world-wide movement with much international support.

The Protestant Church was really a collection
of a number of churches - hence they were easier to deal with. The Protestants
themselves were split. The "German Christians" were lead by Ludwig
Muller who believed that any member of the church who had Jewish ancestry should
be sacked from the church. Muller supported Hitler and in 1933 he was given the
title of "Reich Bishop".

Those who opposed the views of Muller were
called the "Confessing Church". This was led by Martin Niemoller.
He was famous in Germany as he had been a World War One U-boat captain.
Therefore, he was potentially an embarrassing foe to the Nazis. Regardless of
this, he was not safe from the Gestapo who arrested him for opposing Hitler.
Niemoller was sent to a concentration camp for 7 years where he was kept in
solitary confinement. Many other Confessional Church members suffered the same
fate.

In 1936, the Reich Church was created. This
did not have the Christian cross as its symbol but the swastika. The Bible was
replaced by "Mein Kampf" which was placed on the altar. By it was a
sword. Only invited Nazis were allowed to give sermons in a Reich Church.

In
1941, a secret report compiled by Protestants stated that children in Germany
were being brought up minus a Christian education. It stated that the Nazis
confiscated vast areas of church property and that the Catholic Church in
Germany was suffering from the same fate.